


The Beast

by Plinycapybara



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Animals, Dogs, M/M, Modern AU, Pets, more characters later hopefully, puppy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-16
Updated: 2014-01-16
Packaged: 2018-01-08 22:12:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1138005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Plinycapybara/pseuds/Plinycapybara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren and Armin decide to get themselves an apartment shortly after college, only to find themselves subject to the demands of Levi, their landlord--a clean-freak with an unhealthy attachment to a one-year-old, feisty Pomeranian called Mr. Magoo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Beast

The Beast 

A/N: I do not own SnK. If I did, I would not be on here, now would I?

\---Eren and the Beast---

I always thought that rain shelters were for people who couldn’t fit under the patio during their cigarette break. Though one fateful Thursday afternoon, I was proved wrong. I lived in my father’s basement with my boyfriend, Armin, for a mere two days after graduating college with a degree in Business Management. I always knew that my father was an eccentric man, to say the very least, but since the two of us found out that the “secret” that my father had was really a meth lab. By the end of the second night I was considering relocating ourselves to the attic. Though knowing that probably wasn’t the best of the available options, Armin and I talked it through. That morning, we announced our decision. 

“I’m afraid we’re moving out today.”   
“You just graduated on Monday!” Carla protested, “Don’t rush things!”   
“Mom, there’s a meth lab in the basement.” I told her.   
“...What?” Carla asked.  
“You didn’t know that?” I asked.  
“No,” Carla shook her head. 

To say my mom was shocked was an understatement. The police were called in and they took my father into custody. While they were cuffing my father, I packed my things and headed out the door with Armin, leaving a very emotionally disturbed Carla to contemplate her existence. 

The next step was obvious. Find a place to call our own. A place to come home to after work. To sit and watch Lord of the Rings marathons with friends during the weekends. To announce an engagement. To throw birthday parties. To recover from a hangover. To sit on the couch and listen to music on rainy days. 

Armin and I had to find our first place. 

\--

 

I never read the newspapers, and there were two reasons for that; one, when I read it, usually something unfortunate would follow it, two, it’s usually something more in Armin’s realm of interest, not mine. I sat with my suitcase, carrying everything I could pack--all twenty-four years of my existence--under a rain shelter. Armin sat by my side, with a newspaper in hand. 

“Eren, there’s an ad in here for a really cheap apartment. It’s in a nice area, too! There’s lots of job opportunities for a certain Business Management Major nearby.” Armin winked and elbowed me, “More many stores and restaurants opening up--I mean, they’re really cleaning Trost up.” 

Trost was a hipster, shopping borough twenty minutes from the inner city. It was once a blue-collar district that went through a rough patch after the decline of the manufacturing industry during the 1970s. Then, in recent years, it became a trendy neighborhood filled with artsy people and their Pinterest accounts. 

“Armin, I don’t think that we should just jump in-” For some reason, my stomach churned when Armin got connection to whoever was on the other line.   
“Hello, is this Mr. Levi Rivaille? I’m here to call about renting an apartment!” Armin smiled, “We saw your ad in the paper!”   
‘That so?’ the most cynical voice I’ve ever heard come out of a human being spoke from the other side.   
“Yeah! My friend and I need a place to live. We got thrown out of Eren’s basement.” Armin answered.   
‘Ah, great--’ Levi sighed.   
‘Levi,’ another voice entered from the background. It was deeper, but less cynical. Apparently Armin had it on speaker, and whoever was behind him was keeping tabs on the conversation.   
“We’ll come over and look at it. Are you home?” Armin asked.   
‘Yeah,’  
“Great! We’ll be over in a bit!” Armin smiled and hung up the phone. 

It was a Soviet-style block apartment--that meaning that it was layered and every single room looked exactly alike. The insides of the rooms were identical. The elevator had not been updated since John Lennon released “Imagine”. The concrete walls looked like they were prepared for the Martian invasion or a nuclear Holocaust. The carpet in the hallways were, at best, bought from the same manufacturer that makes the flooring for the Holiday Inn. 

A short, hobbit-sized man with black hair stood sweeping the floor with a Dyson vacuum. I couldn’t lie--even if the accommodations sucked, the place was clean. Squeaky clean. I guess that’s what landlords do, afterall. The man glared over at us with his grey eyes. The fact that he hadn’t managed to grow over the height of an Olympic curler and yet be the age of thirty-five wasn’t even the strangest part about him. 

No, the strangest part was the lump in his stomach.   
“You’re not pregnant...are you?” I asked. The air grew thick the minute those words left my mouth. 

I realized then this was exactly the moment when my relationship with Levi, my future landlord from the pits of Hell, went downhill. 

Levi lifted up his shirt, unveiling a ball of fluff held up by a baby-carrier. It was a full-bred Pomeranian. It had beige fur and black-button eyes. Levi glanced over, “I’ve been meaning to replace these lights in the lobby. He tends to bark at them, so if I put him under my shirt, he won’t see them. No, I’m not a woman, and I’m certainly not pregnant.” 

We stared at each other a brief, awkward moment that was broken by Armin, “So, this apartment allows pets? That’s a plus.”   
“No, only I’m allowed to have a pet. His name is Mr. Magoo. My husband calls him Bubbles, and some call him the Beast.” Levi answered.   
“Oh, well, hello Mr. Magoo! My name’s Armin-” Armin reached his hand out to touch Mr. Magoo, only to have it be chomped on the moment he gotten within biting distance.   
“Ok, I...I hope to become g-good friends with you,” Armin shook as he carefully removed his hand. The blonde stared back at me with a face full of tears and regret.   
“How much is an apartment?” I asked.   
“Three hundred per month for each of you,” Levi answered.   
“That’s six hundred in a prime real estate area,” Armin smiled, “Come on! We’ve been dreaming of starting a life together! This is our chance, Eren!” 

That was the moment I should have once in my life told Armin he was wrong about something. 

“I guess you’re right, Armin.” I nodded, “Where’s the forms for us to apply?”   
“I’ll go down the hall to my office,” Levi answered, “Stay put,” He left, leaving Mr. Magoo in the lobby with us. Neither of us bothered to touch the beige ball of puff that laid before us. Levi returned a few moments with two clipboards and a couple pieces of paperwork. The paperwork was simple, understandable, and easy until we reached the last part that occurred after we signed saying we would obey all rules regarding caring for property.

“What...what is this?” I asked.   
“It’s Levi’s Manifesto,” Levi answered as he picked his dog back up, “You have now sworn to obey it, my tenants.” 

The Manifesto was more like a list of rules that Levi expected of his tenants.   
1\. Clean your room daily. I will check if you have or have not done so.   
2\. If I am gone, and you are here, I expect you to take care of Mr. Magoo  
3\. Do not hurt Mr. Magoo. If you do, I’m throwing you out.   
4\. Pay your rent on time, or you will regret ever stepping foot on my carpet. 

The list went on for about three pages. While we reviewed it, Levi handed Armin the keys to our apartment--Apartment No 104. 

“By the way, I want you two to pay rent separately.” Levi said, “I collect rent on twenty-seventh of each month,”   
“Yes,” We nodded. 

Packing wasn’t too much of a pain, namely because neither of us had much to unpack. I tried applying for about five different jobs a week, and got rejection letters back from all of them. Armin found a job fairly quickly, and a decent one at that. He got a paid internship at a nearby power plant. I, on the other hand, got rejected applying to the nearby Waffle House. So one can imagine when it came time to pay rent, Armin had his portion covered. 

Me? I had fifteen dollars to the name “Eren Jaeger”. 

So when twenty-seventh of July came around, Levi came knocking on our door, accompanied by a barking little puff ball. “Here’s my rent, Mr. Rivaille,” Armin handed him an envelope a three-hundred dollar check. 

“Thank you, where’s Jaeger?” Levi asked.   
“Um, Eren?” Armin turned back at me as I turned down the volume on my laptop. I was trying my best to catch up to Game of Thrones, but life kept getting in the way. I barely caught up to Downton Abbey in time--and don’t get me started on the fiftieth anniversary of Dr. Who. “Yeah?”   
“Do you have the rent ready?” Armin asked. 

I froze. “I-I still haven’t found a job, so no,”   
“Jaeger,” Levi glared at me.   
“Y-Yes,”   
“Remember Rule no. 4 of Levi’s Manifesto?” Levi asked.   
“Yes,” I shuttered.   
“I hope you’re good with dogs,” Levi smirked, “Because Erwin and I are going to the Florida Keys for the weekend, so watch over dear Mr. Magoo, will you? Will you?” 

The next two days after that were beyond restless. I couldn’t remember getting a single wink of sleep with Mr. Magoo’s constant barking. Was it actually barking or just yipping? It was too high-pitched to be barking, really. Mr. Magoo peed on my suitcase, took a nice shit on my bed, and even tore up my pillow case. Not to mention, the entire first night he kept crying like a whiny kid because he was detached from his precious Levi. Everytime Armin tried to pick him up, the Pomeranian bit his hand. He apparently thought that Armin’s hand was a chew toy. 

The moment I saw Levi’s care pull in the parking lot, I knew for sure the first time that there was a God watching over me. 

“Jaeger didn’t treat you too badly, did he?” Levi asked, picking his puppy up. I fell back on my couch and fell asleep for about fifteen hours. 

That’s when I first met the Beast.


End file.
